United makes it official: non-stop winter flights from San Diego, Orange County and expanded service from SFO

That is, the airline announced that it would make a commitment to Mammoth beyond one daily flight from San Francisco.

In addition, the airline tweaked its schedule with SFO in the hopes that it could alleviate a turnback/cancellation rate of over 30 percent last season.

No longer will the jets have to land in the dark and take off from Mammoth in the dark. Rather, the flights have been moved up to earlier in the day

But the big news comes from Down South.

In the coming ski season, United will offer San Diego and Orange County residents access to Mammoth Yosemite Airport. United is also expanding service from San Francisco International Airport to Mammoth Lakes with a second flight from Friday – Monday.

The new flights will depart daily throughout the winter from San Diego and four days per week from Orange County (Friday - Monday). In addition, air service to and from San Francisco now includes additional Friday - Monday flight service to complement the daily flight service already in existence.

United Express regional partner SkyWest Airlines will operate the flights using 66-seat CRJ700 regional jets which include six first-class and 60 economy seats per plane. The first flights of the season are scheduled to depart Thursday, December 15, from San Francisco and San Diego and Friday, December 16 from Orange County.

The service from the two new markets of San Diego and Orange County has been long-awaited by Mammoth’s many customers in these areas.

"The new service will allow fans of Mammoth in San Diego and Orange County to spend less time in their car and more time on the slopes with the ability to get to Mammoth Mountain in about an hour,” said Howard Pickett, Chief Marketing Officer of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, in a press release.

“The additional flight from San Francisco will greatly benefit out-of-state visitors by providing an additional connection for even easier access to Mammoth through United’s San Francisco hub.”

Mammoth Yosemite Airport also receives year-round flights from Los Angeles and winter seasonal flights from San Jose through Alaska Airlines.